The tortured cow is out of the barn: If you haven’t seen any of the myriad videos depicting the appalling conditions and treatment of animals in America’s meat industry, then it’s because you’ve made a decision not to watch. (Admittedly, such things cannot be un-seen.) But even if most people prefer not to know how sausage is made, there’s clearly something nefarious about the way large agriculture corporations have been systematically targeting the First Amendment rights of whistleblowers, journalists, and advocacy groups like PETA. (So clear, in fact, "The Daily Show" just covered it.) For a detailed look at what it means to be “Gagged by Big Ag,” we turn to OnEarth editor-at-large Ted Genoways. It’s ok if you don’t want to watch the videos, but somebody needs to watch Big Ag. Mother Jones

Spies and sprays: In related news, a new report shows that the company that manufactures the controversial herbicide atrazine is pulling out all the stops to discredit its detractors. Some of Syngenta Crop Protection’s tactics include hiring a detective agency to dig up dirt on federal advisory panel scientists, paying “third-party allies” to masquerade as independent supporters, and snooping around the personal life of a judge on the case. It even commissioned a psychological profile of a UC-Berkeley scientist whose research draws the conclusion that atrazine feminizes male frogs. Environmental Health News

Permeable pipelines: The province of Alberta, Canada, has averaged two crude oil spills per day -- for the last 37 years. This is apparently not even counting 31,453 “spills of other pipeline substances.” After that little reality bomb, it should come as no surprise that two weeks ago the province experienced one of the largest waste water spills in North American history, the effects of which will likely render the area a dead zone to forest life for over a year. Motherboard

"The hills were alive...": We learned recently that some fish species, like super-dad sticklebacks, are adapting better than others to the pressures of climate change (see “Our Nominee for Father of the Year: the Stickleback”). Still more research out of Europe shows that the surface temperatures of lakes in Austria are rising faster than global averages. And while warmer temperatures might have meant a more pleasant journey for the von Trapps, they could enhance nutrient loads, stimulate algal blooms, and disrupt of indigenous aquatic organisms in high alpine lakes across Europe. Daily Climate

DAILY DISTRACTION

What a hoot: A man politely coaxes an owl back to consciousness after it flies into a plate glass window -- much to both of their surprises. (Swoon.) Here's hoping the little guy is OK. Huffington Post

Gator go home: To the people who keep buying alligators as pets and then releasing them in habitats where gators do not belong -- like Phoenix and Long Island -- please stop. In other news, there are alligators loose in Phoenix and Long Island. USA Today, My Fox NY

We hope those squirrels speak French: In a similar story, Ottawaians are trapping live squirrels, driving them across a bridge, and dumping them in Quebec. The theory is the troublesome squirrels won't be able to find their way home again. Ottawa Citizen

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